The influence of a single session of aerobic exercise on blood pressure during daily activities

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Abstract

This investigation assessed the effects of acute exercise on blood
pressure (BP) during a person's day-to-day life. It was hypothesized
that there would be a reduction of systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP
(DBP) at 1, 3, 5, and 7 hours following exercise as compared to a
control condition. Additionally, it was speculated that those subjects
with a greater reactivity to the cold pressor task would show a larger
reduction than all subjects in mean BP. A secondary hypothesis was that
there would be an attenuation of cardiovascular reactivity (CVR)
following exercise.

Fifteen college aged students enrolled in health education courses
at Virginia Tech wore an ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) monitor for 2
days. These days were scheduled to be as equivalent in demands and
activities as possible. On the morning prior to monitoring they took
part in either an exercise or a control condition. During the exercise
session they cycled for 30 minutes at 10% of their V02max. On the
control day, they read for 30 minutes. The order of these two
conditions was counterbalanced across subjects.

Subjects then wore the ABP monitor for 12 hours while engaging in
their usual activities. It was programmed to take readings every 20
minutes. A self-monitoring diary was filled out immediately following
each cuff inflation.

No significant differences were found between exercise and control
days in either mean SBP or mean DBP. A subset of subjects most reactive
to the cold pressor test also failed to show a significant effect. An
analysis of standard deviations of mean BP did not reveal significant
differences in CVR between the treatment and the control day. The selfmonitoring
data indicated no significant differences across days in
mood, stress, perception of the environment, and position/activity.

This study does not support the hypothesis that SBP and DBP are attenuated during a person's daily activities following acute exercise.
A number of limitations, however, might have reduced the power of the
analysis. Differing schedules and demands between testing days may have
introduced random error. In addition, the subjects tested have a number
of characteristics which possibly render them relatively unresponsive to
the exercise intervention. Future research, in which these limitations
are corrected, will be necessary to determine if exercise exerts an
acute effect on mean BP in the natural environment in populations at
greater cardiovascular risk.